Authority finds police justified in shooting an armed Kerepehi man

Last updated 11:05, April 20 2017

FAIRFAX NZ

Police at the scene of the 2014 shooting of an armed Kerepehi man who threatened to shoot his partner and police (FILE).

Two police officers were justified in shooting a Kerepehi man who held a sawn-off shotgun to his partner's head and threatened to kill her and the police, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found.

The police set up road spikes which disabled the man's car on Kerepehi Town Rd.

Two AOS told the man to put his arms up, but he pointed a rifle towards the officers and was subsequently shot.

The two officers fired a total of seven shots at the man, incapacitating him.

"The two officers who fired shots at the man were justified in doing so because he posed a very real threat of death or serious bodily harm to them and other nearby officers", Authority Chair, Judge Sir David Carruthers, said in the written IPCA decision.

"When the man pointed his rifle at the officers, other tactical options were not viable or appropriate.

"Police responded appropriately to this incident as it developed and provided all reasonable assistance to the man after he was shot."

In accepting the findings of the report, Waikato Police District Commander, Superintendent Greg Nicholls, said his staff were confronted with a very difficult situation that day.

"The man was directed to step out of the car and put his hands in the air," Nicholls said.

"Instead, he got out and pointed a rifle towards the two officers and they feared they were going to be shot.

"The officers did not want to shoot the man and other tactical options were considered, but given the risk he posed, they were left with no other option."